We're a Family
by SunnyLupin
Summary: Parker's thoughts during a briefing.


**Disclaimer**: I do not have proper claim of ownership to the TNT drama _Leverage._

I don't own the characters or any rights belonging to the creators, Dean Devlin, and anyone else.

**Summary: It's just Parker and her thoughts.**

My first _Leverage_ fic. It might sound out of character for Parker, but she is having an inner monologue. And people are different when they're alone. But tell me what you think anyways.

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**Prologue:**

"Alright! Welcome to a brand new day, ladies and gentlemen. Or thieves and con artists." Nate clapped his hands together in excitement. The rest of the team edges away in wariness. When Nate is this excited it doesn't bode well for any of the rest of them. Parker stares straight ahead, seemingly paying attention and following his every move.

"We have a new client that's gotten himself and his wife scammed by a family vacations resort, now…" His voice started to fade as Parker started to day dream.

_**Parker…**_

_In the end, I think it was the idea of family that attracted us all to each other. There's a crippling feeling of loneliness that you get when you have something you've been missing all your life, and then having it snatched away. Being together filled that void. It was probably the same reason we all wanted to stay together, even after the David Jobs. _

_Nate said it was better that we scattered but I was just starting to like having people around. It was different being on a team; having people depend on you, care for you, and helping you. It was nice being around people who are closer to understanding you then any of the foster homes I was in. _

_In the beginning I just wanted the money. Money was a constant and it could buy what you needed to survive. Having lots of it could make you powerful. Money makes the world go round. That's why I love it so much. It's something that won't change in this world. I hope._

_But at some point we did become a family. _

_I'd like to think of Nate as the father figure. He tries to keep us as honest as we're able to get, because this is the family he has to protect now. Sometimes I think that we're the only thing that keeps him together on most days. We're his motivation for life. We keep him from drowning._

_Sophie's the grifter of our team, in all her sweetness and charm. She tries to sooth all of our pains away. She makes us all feel so strong when we're at our lowest. She helped Nate come back from the edge. She is the cornerstone for this team. _

_Eliot's the hitter of the team; he's the protector of our little screwed-up family. He would do anything for any of us. He would lay down his life for us if he needed too. In a fight, he's brutal and intense but controlled, never killing unless it's the very last option he's got. _

_Alec Hardison, the hacker geek, is that class clown from high school that you're annoyed with but still like to have around. Not that I would know enough about the class clown. It's not like I stayed in the same school long enough to make any friends. But that's Hardison, trying to keep us laughing but still coming through for the team when it matters most. _

_And then there's me. I'm the thief with only one name. Mysterious and distant. _

_Where do I fit in? I was the orphan in the foster system that no one wanted. I started learning how to steal when I was nine. I stole my first diamond when I was eighteen. It was supposed to go to this big movie starlet, but I didn't catch her name—I just wanted the diamond. _

_The first time Nate caught up with me was when I was twenty-two and coming out of a pawn shop. I had stolen a Degas from someone's house. How was I to now that it held a sentimental reason for the old broad? Anyway, he didn't catch me. I was always too fast for him, and I'm still too fast for him. Except now, Nate knows me a little better and where I would go to disappear. But now I actually like being around Nate. It didn't mean that I would be in jail anytime soon. _

_The second time he caught up with me took me by surprise. He was waiting on the rooftop of the bank I was exiting. He offered me a deal to give up the things I stole in exchange for a lighter sentence. I just smirked at him and jumped to rappel down the roof. _

_I didn't see him again for another eight months, and that time was purely by accident. He was with his family and they were coming out of a theatre after watching a new movie that had come out. He was laughing as if he didn't have a care in the world. It was a nice sound to hear. I don't hear him laugh like that anymore. _

_Two years later, his son died and he disappeared off the streets. I think it tears him up inside. I never saw him again until the Nigerian Job came along. I could hardly recognize him. It was like he aged ten years and the man that chased me, the one that was infamous to con artists, thieves, and criminals, was gone. _

_But now he has us, his team of thieves. Nate has a new family and he's not about to give that up. I'm not either. Looking back, I noticed that Nate was the first man to be a constant one in my life. He was also the first nice one, and the first honest man I worked with. _

_The team thinks that I don't notice these things, but I do—I just don't like sharing. What can I say? I am a thief. I'm a lot smarter and more observant than they can see. You have to be to be a good thief. But I think Nathan does see more than the other because he's played for both sides. I just wish that he and Sophie quit dancing around each other and get together already. The tension is killing me. For a man who can create a smooth operating con, he's not so smooth with Sophie. Speaking of Nate, I better pay attention to this briefing or I'll miss out on the good stuff. _

…………..Parker sat up and blinked a few times to get her head clear. She looked up at Nate and smirked. Nate took that smirk to mean that she is ready and smiled in return.

"Okay, everyone know what they're doing? Good. Let's go steal ourselves a honeymoon." Nate had clapped his hands in dismissal and went off upstairs to pack. Parker's eyes widened.

_Oops._

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there's a she-wolf in your closet—open up and set her free (Shakira)

A/N: I might start the Family Resort Job in a new story. This is just Parker's thoughts.

So basically the new job requires the team to pose as a family. I'm not sure yet how they'll help their clients but I'll work on it. On another note, I am loaded up with school work and it was a miracle that I got this up, but I probably won't post the story anytime so soon.


End file.
